Package binding machines



June 27, 1967 PETER ROY COOK PACKAGE BINDING MACHINES 6 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed May 17, 1965 June 27, 1967 PETER ROY COOK 3,327,618

PACKAGE BINDING MACHINES Filed May 17, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 4/ 2/ 2m 2a{a 79.

ATTORNEYS June 27, 196 PETER ROY COOK PACKAGE BINDING MACHINES 6Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed y 17, 1965 ATTORNEY5 June 1967 PETER ROY COOK 73,327,618

PACKAGE BINDING MACHINES e Sheet-Sheet 4 Filed May 17, 1965 I lit IATTORNEYS June 1967 PETER ROY COOK PACKAGE BINDING MACHINES Filed May17, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 L m gm m V J vw 10 A 7 76 June 27, 1967 PETERROY COOK 3,327,613

PACKAGE BINDING MACHINES Filed May 17, 1965 e Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTORPETER ROY COOK sYigm zm/zwwzw ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,327,618PACKAGE BINDING MACHINES Peter Roy Cook, Kent, England, assignor toPackage Sealing Company (Export) Limited, Maidenhead, Berkshire,England, a British company Filed May 17, 1965. Ser. No. 497,575 Claims.(Cl. 100-4) This application is a continuation-in-part of applicationSerial No. 236,881 filed November 13, 1962, and which issued as PatentNo. 3,183,824 on May 18, 1965.

This invention is concerned with machines for binding packages withflexible metal binding material and of the kind comprising means forfeeding the material endwise, a guide which receives the material anddirects it to form a loop with overlapping ends, means for tighteningthe loop around a package, and a connecting device for i011!- ing theends of the tightened loop.

Moreover, the invention is concerned with a machine of the above kind inwhich at least some of the machines components are powered or controlledby pneumatic means which operate in an automatic sequence including theloop-forming operation. This raises the problem of sensing when the freeend of the material reaches or approaches its final position during theloop-forming operation, so that the automatic sequence can be stopped orcontinued.

According to the present invention the machine comprises a controllingair circuit which includes an air duct leading to a bleed port, thearrangement being such that as the free end of the material approachesits final position during the loop-forming operation it effects a changein flow conditions at the bleed port, and the machine also comprisesmeans responsive to the ensuing pressure change in the air duct for atleast terminating the feeding action of the feed means.

The pressure change in the air duct maybe a pressure rise or a pressuredrop, according to whether the bleed port is opened or closed by thefree end of the material.

The bleed port may be controlled by its own obturator which ispositioned so as to be operated by the free end of the material as thelatter approaches its final position. Movement of the obturator inresponse to actuation by the free end of the material may either open orclose the bleed port.

Preferably, the bleed port is normally open and is closed by the freeend of the material which itself acts as the obturator. One way ofachieving this result is to provide a guide structure which contains thebleed port and which receives the free end of the material as the latterapproaches its final position.

The guide structure preferably consists of two parts one of which ismovable to open and close it, and the meeting faces of the two parts areformed with confronting grooves one of which, when the guide structureis closed, conducts the material into the aforesaid guide and the otherof which contains the bleed port and receives the free end of thematerial as the latter approaches its final position.

Preferably the connecting device is a twister pinion and the bindingmaterial is flattened wire and in this case the guide structure consistsof a stationary upper part formed with the groove containing the bleedport and a movable lower part formed with the other groove.

The guide structure is preferably opened and closed by an air cylinderand means are provided inlthe air circuit for causing this air cylinderto open the guide structure at the end of the twisting action of thetwister pinion and for closing'it after the ejection of the tie.

The feeding means preferably comprises a driving roller, a bodilymovable pressure roller and an air cylintier controlled by apressure-responsive valve for bringing the pressure roller intowire-feeding relationship with the driving roller.

The machine according to the invention also includes other novelfeatures which are set forth in the appended claims and which areexemplified in a specific embodiment described with reference to theaccompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of a machine in accord. ance with theinvention,

FIGURE 2 is a section through the twister pinion and associated parts inthe binding plane,

FIGURE 3 is an enlargement of part of FIGURE 2,

FIGURE 4 is a diagram of the air circuit,

FIGURE 5 is a rear elevation of the machine,

FIGURE 6 is a section on the line 66 in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 7 is a section on the line 7-7 in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 8 is a section similar to FIGURE 7 but showing the guide ring inthe open position.

The machine comprises a foundation plate 10 which carries the chiefworking components. This plate is mounted vertically on a frame (notshown) consisting of a base, two pillars at the sides of the plate and across beam connecting the tops of the pillars. The plate is secured tothe frame by any suitable means.

The chief components mounted on the plate are a guide ring 11 whichsurrounds an aperture 12 for the package; a twister pinion gear box 13which is located in a deep slot in the plate below the package aperture;a reversible feed 14 and an extra-tension device 15. An electric motor16 for driving the reversible feed is also mounted on the plate.

A reel 17, carrying a coil of flattened wire, and a slack take-up device18 are mounted in one corner of the frame.

The guide ring 11 is a metal bar bent into an approximate rectangle withrounded corners, a gap being left between the ends. The ring is disposedin front of the plate and its rear surface has a groove 11a in it whichconstitutes the loop-shaped part of the wires fiow path. The ring ismovable into and out of contact with the plate by four double-acting aircylinders A which are fixed to the back of the plate and the piston rods19a of which pass through holes in the plate to connect with lugs 19attached to the ring. The ring is closed, that is to say held in contactwith the foundation plate, during the loop-forming operation when theforward feed drives the free end of the wire round the ring. The ring isopened to permit reverse feed and the application of extra tension.

The twister pinion gear box is topped 'by anose plate- 20 which providesa support for the packages. The pinion 20a is mounted in the box onbored pivots 21 fixed to the underside of the nose. In the restingcondition the slot in the twister pinion is horizontal and pointsforwards. When the pinion is operated to twist together the ends of theloop it performs three revolutions to apply the twist and a furtherfraction of a revolution to apply the overtwist, after which the pinionis turned back through the angle of overtwist to bring the slot into itsresting position to allow ejection of the twist. This motion isaccomplished by two double-acting air cylinders and two unidirectionaldriving mechanisms as follows.

The twister pinion is driven through an idler 22 by a gear wheel 23which rotates on a transverse shaft 24 jour'nalled in the sides of thegear box, the speed ratio between the gear wheel and the pinion being9:1 so that of gear wheel movement produces three revolutions of thepinion. The gear wheel is large enough to project through apertures inthe front and rear walls of the gear box and it carries on its flankstwo ratchet discs 25, 26.

28 which has two limbs terminating in hubs 29. These hubs are keyed tothe shaft by two common keys which are covered in the middle by a sleeve30 on which the gear wheel is mounted by a bush bearing. The outer endof the arm carries a double-toothed pawl 31 engaging with the edges ofthe two ratchet discs and forming unidirectional clutch means.

The shaft also carries a pinion 32 driven by a rack 33 which is attachedto linearly reciprocable driving means formed by the piston rod of twistcylinder D. The arm is caused to drive the gear wheel through a littlemore than 120, by the upstroke of cylinder D and is recovered by thedownstroke. The stroke of the twist cylinder is limited by an adjustabletrip valve T which is arranged to reverse the upstroke of the twistcylinder. This sensing valve is operated by a cam 34 mounted on theshaft outside the boX. The sensing valve is adjustably mounted so thatits position can be altered to increase or reduce the stroke of thetwist cylinder, that is to say to increase or reduce the amount ofovertwist.

When the gear wheel has been turnedfor twist and overtwist it must bereturned through the angle of overtwist so as to bring the twisterpinion into a position in which the tie can be ejected. The ejectionposition of the gear wheel is defined by a stop pawl 35 which is mountedon the front of the gear box in contact with the far side ratchet disc.The far side ratchet disc is driven back against this pawl by secondunidirectional driving means comprising the overtwist return cylinder B.The stop pawl. is mounted on an eccentric for the purpose of allowing ittobe adjusted to compensate for wear of the gear teeth.

The stop pawl is mounted on two vertical plates 36, 37 which arepositioned on the front of the box on the far side of the aperturethrough which the gear wheel projects. These two plates are formed withidentical slots 38 which are adapted to guide a striker pin 39 into andout of the recesses 27 in the far side ratchet disc. The striker pin isconnected to the piston rod of overtwist return cylinder B by a linkmember 40 which runs between the plates. The pivot pin which connectsthe link member to the piston rod of cylinder B also runs in the slots.During the driving stroke of the overtwist return cylinder the strikerpin is guided into that recess in the far side ratchet disc which ispresented at the front of the gear box, engages the upper end of therecess and then pushes the disc back against the stop pawl. The drivingstroke of the overtwist return cylinder is tripped by the trip valve Tand so is performed during the downstroke of twist cylinder D.

The pawl on the driving arm operates the ejectors during the downstrokeof twist cylinder D. The ejectors are two bars 41 which flank thetwister pinion and slide backwards and forwards in guides beneath thenose plate. The rear ends of the ejectors are connected by a pivotedframe 42 which is biased to the rear by a spring and embraces a roller nthe upper end of a lever 43 pivoted to the back of the box. The lowerend of the lever carries another roller 44 which lies near the arc ofmovement of the pawl 31. During the upstroke of the twist cylinder D thepawl 31 is sunk in its notches and misses the roller 44. During thedownstroke however the pawl rises onto the lands of the ratchetdiscs andits arc of movement intersects the resting position of roller 44.

The driving arm also carries a cam 45 which operates a trip valve Uduring the downstroke of the twist cylinder D. This trip valve carries alever and pivoted tooth arrangement 46 which enables cam 45 to actuatethe trip valve U on the downstroke but not on the upstroke of twistcylinder D. The trip valve U is arranged to continue the sequence ofoperations as will be described later.

The gear box also contains a holding gripper on the near side ofthetwister pinion. The gripper comprises a body 47 which is arranged toslide up and down inside a tube 48.'The top of the body carries a head49 which co-operates with the underside of the nose plate in grippingthe free end of the loop of wire. The head is penetrated by a throughbore 50'through which 'the wire between the twister pinion and thereversible feed extendsThe top portion of the grippers head thereforeacts as a spacer which limits the twist on the near side of the twisterpinion. The gripper is raised and lowered, to grip or release the wire,by a lever 51 which is pivoted inside the box and extends forwards,through slots in the tube, the grippers body and the front wall of thebox to the outside, where it is connected by a connecting rod 52 to thepiston rod of double-acting air cylinder E.

The tube carries a wire-severing knife 53' which slides against the headof the gripper. The bottom of the tube carries a roller 54 which isurged into contact with a cam 53a on the transverse shaft by a springbetween the body of the gripper and the tubes bottom. The cam 53a isshaped to raise the knife above the far side and of the bore 50 in theholding grippers head just before the upstroke of the twist cylinder Dis reversed. The wire is severed under tension.

On the far side of the twister pinion is a pseudo-gripper, so called.This consists of a body 57 able to slide up and down in bearings. Thebody is topped by a head v 58 which co-operates with the underside ofthe nose plate. The pseudo-gripper is raised and lowered by a lever 59which is pivoted inside the box and extends forwards through slots inthe body 57 and the front of the box to the outside, where it isconnected by a connecting rod 60 to the double-acting air cylinder F.

The top of the head is inclined and is crossed by an open ended groove61 which extends in the direction of wire movement. This groove isdeeper at the near side end andits bottom at this end is rounded.

A second groove 62, which is open at the near side end only, is presentin the nose plate. This upper groove 62 is exactly opposite toandexten-ds in the same direction as the lower groove.

During forward feed the pseudo-gripper is up and the holding gripper isdown. The free end of the wire is fed from the holding gripper, throughthe twister pinion and the notches in the ejectors and into the groove61 in the head of the pseudo-gripper. This groove directs the free endof the wire upwards into the ring. After going round the ring, the freeend of the wire passes between the holding gripper and the nose plate,through the ejectors and twister pinion a second time and into the uppergroove 62. The loop of wire thus formed lies in one plane and theoverlapping portions thereof are in face-to-face relationship. Thepseudo-gripper locates the overlapping portions of the wire on the farside of the twister pinion without gripping them and also limits theprogress of the twist on that side.

The arrangement also includes a means for sensing when the free endofthe wire approaches or arrives at its final position and for terminatingthe forward feed.

As shown in FIGURE 2 the nose plate on the far side is penetrated by anair duct 63 which communicates through a bleed port 63a with the uppergroove 62. As. the free end of the wire approaches the pseudo-gripperfor the second time air is being discharged through the bleed port. Theentry of the free end of the wire into the upper groove stops thisdischarge of air and causes a pressure rise in air duct 63. Thispressure rise actuates a valve controlling the forward feed and therebyterminates forward feed as will be explained later. The upper groove 62includes a stop 65 for the free end of the wire.

The head of the pseudo-gripper and the adjacent portion of the noseplate in fact constitute the lower and upper parts of a guide structurewhich elfects the guiding of the free end of the wire into a desiredfinal position, locates the overlapping portions of the wire on the farside against relative rotation during the twist and limits the progressof the twist on the far side. Furthermore this guide structure isopenable to permit ejection.

In the arrangement described the free end of the wire itself acts as theobturator of the bleed port but, although this is the preferredarrangement, it is not necessary that it should do so and alternativearrangement may be found to function satisfactorily.

The reversible feed comprises forward and reverse driving rollers 66 and67 the shafts of which are geared together and mounted in a carrierplate 68 bodily movable about a pivot 69 on a fixed bracket dependingfrom the foundation plate. Above the driving rollers are two pressurerollers 70 and 71 which are mounted in a tilting holder 72. This holderhas two operative positions and a neutral position. In either of theoperative positions one of the pressure rollers is down to engage thewire with the associated driving roller. In the neutral position bothpressure rollers are out of action. The holder is adapted to be tiltedin a clockwise direction by the piston rod of reverse-feed air cylinderG and in an anticlockwise direction by the piston rod of forward-feedair cylinder H. Each of these air cylinders contains a piston which isurged upwards by a spring and is adapted to be urged downwards by airpressure. The shaft of the forward-feed drive roller is continuallydriven through a friction clutch and a belt and pulley by an electricmotor 16 which is mounted on the foundation plate.

The carrier plate 68 on which the reversible feed is mounted liesadjacent to a trip valve V mounted on the back of the foundation plate.The plate 68 is normally biassed away from this trip valve in adirection opposite to the reaction of the wire on the reverse-feedrollers by a spring 74.

' During forward feed compressed air is admitted to the top offorward-feed cylinder H and the forward-feed pressure roller 70 is helddown to grip the wire between itself and the associated driving roller.The wire is consequently fed towards the binding plane. Between thereversible feed and the holding gripper, the wire is conducted by agrooved bar 75 which is fixed to the foundation plate. The compressedair is cut off from the cylinder H when the free end of the wire closesthe bleed port in the nose plate.

During reverse-feed compressed air is admitted to the top ofreverse-feed cylinder G and reverse-feed pressure roller 71 is helddown. Reverse feed continues until the tension in the wire is equal tothe pull of the reversefeed rollers, whereupon the reverse-feed rollersclimb the wire, shifting the plate 68 against the action of its spring.Consequently, the trip valve V is operated. The trip valve V is arrangedto trip the operation of the extra-tension device and disengage thereverse feed drive. The controlling air circuit is so arranged that theair supply to the reverse feed cylinder G is not cut oil until after theextratension device has been actuated.

The extra-tension device consists of a lever 76 which is pivoted to thefoundation plate. The lever is in two parts pivoted together at 79. Theupper part is slotted at its lower end and the slot contains the fixedjaw 80 and the pivoted jaw 81 of an extra-tension gripper. The lowerpart of the lever is also slotted, the slot receiving the lower end ofthe upper part and containing a roller 82 which engages a cam surface onthe pivoted jaw of the extra-tension gripper. The gripper is normallyheld open by a spring 83. The lower part of the lever is connected by aconnecting rod to the piston rod of d0uble-acting air cylinder C. Thecylinder C is pivoted to the frame of the machine.

When the extra-tension cylinder C is tripped by trip valve V its pistonrod extends and drives the lower part of the extra-tension lever awayfrom the reversible feed. This movement causes the roller 82 to closethe extratension gripper, after which the whole lever moves away fromthe reversible feed pulling the wire with it. Since the extra tensiondevice is applied just before the release of the reverse feed there isno loss of tension in the wire. The final tension in the wire isdetermined by the air pressure in cylinder C. The lower part of theextra-tension lever has an upwardly projecting finger 84 which movesbetween two stops 85 on the upper part. This device limits the grippingforce of the extra-tension gripper.

The wire is taken from a reel and is engaged between the reel and thereversible feed by a slack take-up device 18. The slack take-up devicecomprises a lever 87 which is pivoted to a fixed block 88 at its lowerend and carries wire guiding rollers at its upper end. A spring 90 actsbetween the lever and a valve plate 91 also pivoted to the block. Thespring is supported by a curved rod 89 which is attached to the valveplate and slides through a hole in the lever. The valve plate controls ableed port 108 in the block 88. During the first part of forward feed,the feed rollers remove the slack from the wire and the lever 87 israised towards the block. The spring is thus caused to drive the valveplate against the bleed port to stop the flow of air which at this timeis being discharged from it.

The pressure signal thus developed in the air duct leading to the bleedport 108 is utilised to operate doubleacting air cylinder K, which isadapted to rotate the reel.

The reel is mounted on a sleeve which is rotatably mounted on a fixedshaft 92. The sleeve carries a disc 93 to which the reel is drivablyconnected by an axially extending pin (not shown) which fits into asocket in the disc. The cylinder K is pivoted to a brake lever 94carrying a brake pad 95 and the piston rod is pivoted to a driving levercarrying a driving pawl 96. The driving lever is pivoted to the reelshaft and the brake lever is pivoted to a fixed pin which is eccentricof the shaft. When the.

reel cylinder extends its rod, the pawl kicks the disc and thus rotatesthe reel, which pays off wire. When the reel cylinder retracts its rodthe brake pad re-engages the disc and thus stops the reel.

The various operations of the machine are carried out in an automaticsequence. FIGURE 4 shows the air circuit and the positions of thecomponents at the beginning of a cycle. The ring is closed and loadedwith wire, the free end limb of the loop being anchored by the holdinggripper. The pseudo-gripper is up, the piston of the overtwist returncylinder B is up and the piston of the twist cylinder D is down. Thereversible feed is in neutral, the extra-tension piston is retracted andthe reel brake is on. There is a clamping cylinder J for clampingpackages during the binding operation. This cylinder is idle at thebeginning of the cycle.

The machine is controlled by three mechanically-operated valves, whichhave already been described, and a number of air-operated valves whichare enclosed in a box 99. A compressed air line conducts compressed airfrom a source through a filter 101 a pressure regulator 102 and alubricator 103 to an emergency stop valve 104 which, in the positionillustrated, allows this air to pass toall the valve air inlets, each ofwhich is denoted by a circle. The valve air outlets are denoted byarrows.

The sequence is started by depressing the push button of manual startvalve 105 or the trip lever of auto-trip valve 106. The latter isactuated by placing a package within the loop. On actuation of either ofthese valves air passes from the inlet of ring cylinder valve A throughpressure drop valve Z and the starting valve to the right hand side ofpilot valve L. Pilot valve L reverses and sends its own air throughpilot valve M to cylinder valve J,

ring cylinder valve A and overtwist return cylinder valve D all of whichare reversed. Consequently the ring opens, the package clamp 115 (seeFIGURE 4) comes down and the striker pin is retracted from one of therecesses in the far side ratchet disc. The reversal of the cylindervalve A cuts the air supply to the starting valves, which are nowinoperative.

The reversal of cylinder valve A also exhausts the front ends of thering cylinders and the resulting pressure drop enables pressure dropvalve 2.; to reverse and send its own air through pilot valve P toreverse-feed cylinder valve G G reverses against its spring and sendsits own air to the reverse-feed cylinder G. Reverse-feed thereuponbegins and continues until the loop has contracted so tightly onto thepackage that the tension in the wire equals the pull of the reverse feedrollers, whereupon the rollers climb the wire and effect operation ofthe trip valve V.

Trip valves V ends its own air to pilot valve P. Valve P reverses andfirst diverts the signal from pressure drop valve Z, to extra-tensioncylinder valve C subsequently exhausting reverse-feed cylinder valve Cwhich is reset by its own spring to stop the reverse feed. Cylindervalve C now reversed, sends regulated pressure to the extratensioncylinder C which applies extra tension to the wire round the pack. Theregulated pressure is also applied through an adjustable orifice to thetwist cylinder valve D The orifice can be adjusted to vary theextra-tension/ twist sequence. The cylinder valve D reverses and thetwist cylinder D commences its upstroke. Twist and overtwist are therebyapplied to the overlapping ends of the loop. At the top of the upstrokethe trip valve Tis actuated in the manner already described. Trip valveT sends a signal to pilot valve M. Pilot valve M reverses and divertsthe signal from valve L to pilot valve N, package clamp cylinder valve1,, and twist cylinder valve D It is also exhausts cylinder valve Bwhich is reset by its spring. Thus, the overtwist return cylinder Breturns the twister pinion through the angle of overtwist, the packageclamp is released and the stroke of twist cylinder D is reversed. Itwould appear impossible for the signal from valve L to reset cylinder Dsince the reversing signal from valve C, has not yet been removed fromthat valve. However valve D is controlled by two pistons working inseparate chambers and air can be admitted to these chambers on bothsides of each piston. The resetting signal from valve L not only appliesa resetting pressure to one of these pistons but also cancels thereversing signal on the other. The air diverted to pilot valve N isapplied to cylinder valves B and F These valves reverse and thepseudogripper and the holding gripper go down to permit ejection of thetie. The loop, it will be remembered, was severed from the supply ofwire during the overtwist.

Near the bottom of its downstroke, after ejection of the tie, the twistcylinder D actuates trip valve U which thereupon sends a signal to pilotvalve N. Pilot valve N reverses and diverts air to cylinder valve A atthe same time as it exhausts cylinder valves B,, and F.,. F is reset byits spring and the pseudo-gripper goes up in readiness for the forwardfeed. A is reset and the ring is thereby closed. Resetting of A leads toresetting of 2.; to remove the signal from extra-tension cylinder v-alveC This valve is reset by its spring and the extra-tension cylinderretracts the extra-tension lever.

As well as applying air to cylinder valve A pilot, valve N also appliesair to pressure drop valve Z which cannot pass through until the twistcylinder has completed its down-stroke. When this is so pressure dropvalve Z is reset and the signal passes through to pressure drop valve ZThis valve is not reset until the pseudo-gripper is fully up. When thisis so the signal passes through to reverse the forward-feed cylindervalve H H sends air to the forward-feed cylinder H and forward feedcommences.

At this moment air is bleeding through the bleed port 63a in the noseplate and also through the bleed port 108 controlled by the valve plate91 which is associated with the slack take-up device. When the Wire isfed forward, the slack is removed and thus, as already explained, leadsto closure of port 108 in the block 88. Pressure builds up in the airduct leading to port 108 and reverses relay valve R, which sends its ownair to reverse the cylinder valve K. Consequently, reel cylinder K kicksthe reel and wire is paid off to prevent the feed rollers pulling- W-ireoff the reel. When the wire is fed fully round the ring it blocks thewire bleed port 63a. Pressure builds up in the air duct '63 and thisoperates relay valve S, which sends a signal to reset pilot valve L.Pilot valve L sends air to reset cylinder valves E and H thus stoppingthe forward feed and closing the holding gripper. It also resets pilotvalves- M, N and P for the next cycle of operations. The air that drivesup the holding gripper also resets the cylinder valve K to prevent moreWire being fed off the reel. This ends the cycle.

When the ring is closed, air is sent to pressure drop valve Z whichcannot pass until the holding gripper is fully up. When this is so Z isreset and the signal passes through to the starting valves in readinessfor the next cycle.

The circuit also includes an emergency stop button 109, depression ofwhich reverses the emergency stop valve 104. Reversal of the emergencystop valve exhausts the air from the control system and also suppliesair to the appropriate places to reset all valves to the startingposition. Depression of the reset button 110 now resets the emergencystop valve, thus re-applying air to the control system, now in thestarting position.

When it is desired to load thernachine with wire the emergency stopbutton must first be depressed. Air is then fed to the wire load pushbutton 111, which when depressed applies air at a limited rate to keepthe ring closed, the holding gripper down, the pseudo-gripper up, thepiston rod of the overtwist return cylinder extended and the forwardfeed pressure roller down. It also operates cylinder K which takes offthe brake and kicks the reel. When wire has been fed round the ring, thewire load push button can be released and the system reset. The machineis then ready for operations.

I claim:

1. A feed drive mechanism for controlling'the feeding and retraction ofbinding material in a package binding machine, comprising a forwarddriving roller and a reverse driving roller rotatably mounted in asupport, common driving means coupled to said forward and reversedriving rollers and operative to drive said rollers continuously inopposite directions of rotation, a forward drive pressure idlerrotatably carried adjacent said forward driving roller, a reverse drivepressure idler rotatably carried adjacent said reverse driving roller,said pressure idlers being rotatably mounted in a tilting holder pivotedon said support, fluid pressure motor means being provided mountedbetween said tilting holder and said a support and selectively operableto pivot said tilting holder in one direction to move one pressure idlerinto running engagement with its corresponding driving roller and in theopposite direction to move the other pressure idler into runningengagement with its corresponding driving roller, the tilting holderhaving an intermediate in-v operative position in which neither pressureidler is in running engagement with its corresponding driving roller.

2. A feed drive mechanism according to claim 1 wherein said support ispivotally mounted on a package binding machine and is biassed into anormal operative position, and further comprising an extra-tensiondevice carried on said machine and operable on retraction of saidbinding material onto a package to be bound to engage said 'bindingmaterial and apply an additional tension thereto, actuating means forsaid extra-tension device mounted on said machine adjacent said support,said actuating means being operable by said support, on pivotal movementthereof on completion of retraction of said binding material by saidfeed drive mechanism, to actuate said extra-tension device.

3. A feed drive mechanism according to claim 2 Wherein saidextra-tension device comprises, a pivot on said machine, a lever mountedon said pivot, 21 gripper on said lever for engaging said bindingmaterial, fluid pressure motor means connected between said lever and afixed part of said machine, said actuator means comprising a valvemounted on said machine and operable on pivotal movement of said carrierto actuate said fluid pressure motor means to pivot said lever therebycausing said grip. per to engage and apply a tension to said bindingmaterial.

4. A feed drive mechanism for controlling the feeding and retraction ofbinding material in a package binding machine, comprising a forwarddriving roller and a reverse driving roller rotatably mounted in asupport, common driving means coupled to said forward and reversedriving rollers and operative to drive said rollers continuously inopposite directions of rotation, a forward drive pressure idlerrotatably carried adjacent said forward driving roller, a reverse drivepressure idler rotatably carried adjacent said reverse driving roller,actuating means alternatively operable to move each pressure idler intorunning engagement with its corresponding driving roller to efiectmovement of said binding material, said support being pivotally mountedon said machine and biassed into a normal operative position, incombination with an extratension device mounted on said machine andoperative in response to pivotal movement of said support on attainmentof a predetermined tension in said binding material during retractionthereof, to engage said binding material and apply an additional tensionthereto.

r BILLY J. WILHITE,

5. The combination according to claim 4 wherein said extra-tensiondevice comprises a pivot on said machine, a lever mounted on said pivot,a gripper carried on said lever and operative to engage said bindingmaterial, fluid pressure motor motor means connected between said lever,and a fixed part of said machine and operative to pivot said lever,actuator means comprising a valve mounted on said machine adjacent saidsuport and operative in response to pivotal movement of said support onattainment of said predetermined tension to actuate said fluid pressuremotor means to pivot said lever, engage said gripper and apply saidadditional tension to said binding material.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,136,225 11/ 1938 Williams 262,195,043 3/1940 Wright 100-26 2,215,121 9/1940 Harvey et a1 IOU-26 X2,707,430 5/1955 Leslie et a1. 100-26 X 2,812,707 11/1957 CheesmanIOU-31 2,880,666 4/1959 Rogers 100-31 X 3,012,497 12/1961 Fryer 100263,046,871 7/1962 Cheesman et al 100-26 3,057,289 10/1962 Luthi 100-263,086,451 4/1963 Van Der Wal 10026 3,116,681 1/1964 Van De Bilt 100'263,146,695 9/1964 Van De Bilt 1004 3,179,037 4/ 1965 Cranston et a1.100-4 3,196,779 7/1965 Embree 100-4 Primary Examiner.

1. A FEED DRIVE MECHANISM FOR CONTROLLING THE FEEDING AND RETRACTION OFBINDING MATERIAL IN A PACKAGE BINDING MACHINE, COMPRISING A FORWARDDRIVING ROLLER AND A REVERSE DRIVING ROLLER ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN ASUPPORT, COMMON DRIVING MEANS COUPLED TO SAID FORWARD AND REVERSEDRIVING ROLLERS AND OPERATIVE TO DRIVE SAID ROLLERS CONTINUOUSLY INOPPOSITE DIRECTIONS OF ROTATION, A FORWARD DRIVE PRESSURE IDLERROTATABLY CARRIED ADJACENT SAID FORWARD DRIVING ROLLER, A REVERSE DRIVEPRESSURE IDLER ROTATABLY CARRIED ADJACENT SAID REVERSE DRIVING ROLLER,SAID PRESSURE IDLERS BEING ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN A TILTING HOLDER PIVOTEDON SAID SUPPORT, FLUID PRESSURE MOTOR MEANS BEING PROVIDED MOUNTEDBETWEEN SAID TILTING HOLDER AND SAID SUPPORT AND SELECTIVELY OPERABLE TOPIVOT SAID TILTING HOLDER IN ONE DIRECTION TO MOVE ONE PRESSURE IDLERINTO RUNNING ENGAGEMENT WITH ITS CORRESPONDING DRIVING ROLLER AND IN THEOPPOSITE DIRECTION TO MOVE THE OTHER PRESSURE IDLER INTO RUNNINGENGAGEMENT WITH ITS CORRESPONDING DRIVING ROLLER, THE TILTING HOLDERHAVING AN INTERMEDIATE INOPERATIVE POSITION IN WHICH NEITHER PRESSUREIDLER IS IN RUNNING ENGAGEMENT WITH ITS CORRESPONDING DRIVING ROLELR.